Redneck Gaijin wrote:

 

Consider that out of Ukyou, Akane, and Shampoo, Shampoo is the -dumbest,- the -least- considerate, the most violent, and the most annoying to Ranma of the whole lot.

 
Have to disagree with you there.  First of all, Shampoo is *NOT* dumb. 
Her broken japanese is a lot better than Ranma's chinese as many fics
have pointed out.  

	Shampoo is a very capable and skilled fighter and while she does use
her body to entice Ranma, she does it because of her own desire for him,
not as a mindless bimbo.    

	If she seems like a bimbo at times, it's because she's deleriously
happy at being with Ranma.  Look at Ryouga whenever he's around Akane,
he's not acting like a bimbo, he's just lost in bliss.

Furthermore, she spends half her time as a cat.

Yes, Shampoo does use her cat form to influence or just plain terrify
Ranma when she wants something.  We all have our shortcomings. 


Furthermore, if Ranma did marry Shampoo, he would have to go back to
China and become a househusband while Shampoo led the Amazons on to
glory. Not the preferred career plan for a martial artist.


I think Ranma would do his share of the fighting as well.  He's not the
type to sit down for long.  Likewise, I believe Shampoo would want to
have a child at some point, giving Ranma some of the responsibility of
leadership. 

 

Furthermore, Ranma's feelings towards Shampoo, as portrayed in the manga at least, are split between knee-jerk possessiveness (as portrayed in the Contrary Jewel incident), mild friendship and blatant fear.

 
The Contrary Jewel episode wasn't about possessiveness, it was about
Ranma's colossal ego and stubborness to win every battle, even a
pointless one with Shampoo.  That's why he goes to such lengths to win
her love back, IMHO. 

Furthermore, Ranma has made it blatantly clear he doesn't want to marry

ANYBODY yet- something which Shampoo ignores completely.

True, but then Kodachi, Ukyou, and sometime even Akane do that as well.
Akane shows her possessiveness in a different way of course....

 

Doesn't look too good for the brainless one, does it?

Redneck

Although my favorite character and first choice to marry Ranma will
always be Ukyou Kuonji, I feel Shampoo is not as hopeless a choice as
you think.  Again, this is my own opinion but I think Shampoo deserves a
fair shake as well.

Sincerely,

Megane 6.7